LG has quietly rolled out a new tablet in its home market of South Korea. The new slab is called the LG G Pad 2 8.0, and, as the name suggests, the tablet is the successor to last year's mid-range
LG G Pad 8.0. We know that some would have preferred to see a revamped version of the high-end
LG G Pad 8.3 of 2013, but that's not the case just yet.
Compared to its direct predecessor, the LG G Pad 8.0 doesn't bring significant improvements in terms of hardware, which could actually be the reason why the manufacturer decided to unveil the G Pad 2 8.0 without much fanfare. We're talking about specs such as an 8-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 800 by 1200 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, 1.5GB of RAM, 32GB of microSD-expandable internal storage (other versions may be launched with more or less internal storage space), and a 4200mAh battery.
In the camera department, the LG G Pad 2 8.0 comes with a 5MP primary shooter and the back and a 2MP secondary camera on the front. On the software side, the slab runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is a bit surprising given that the newer Android 5.1 Lollipop has been available for a few good months now.
One particularly interesting detail about LG's new mid-range tablet is that it comes with a full-sized USB 2.0 port, which is an uncommon feature for a mid-sized tablet, especially an Android-based one. As one of LG's promotional images show (see them all below), the port can be used to attach an external keyboard or even gaming controllers. At a first glance, the external keyboard might be a more natural fit for the LG G Pad 2.0, seeing that the tablet comes with pre-loaded with MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, the holy triad of Microsoft productivity Office apps for Android tablets. Like most productivity-minded tablets, the LG G Pad 2 8.0 also comes with a stylus, one that measures 3.5mm across the waist and is touted to allow for accurate input.
At the moment, the LG G Pad 2 8.0 is only available in South Korea, but given the manufacturer's previous launch patterns, it wouldn't be surprising to see the slab reach more Western markets such as Europe and North America. It also wouldn't be unthinkable for LG to launch a smaller 7-inch version and a larger 10.1-inch versions of the LG G Pad 2 as well. We'll keep you updated with more information as soon as it becomes available.
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